A majority of North Carolinians oppose
a proposed constitutional amendment which would ban gay marriage in
the state, a new poll has found.
While only 36 percent of respondents to
an Elon
University Poll released Friday said they support gay marriage, a
majority (54%) said they are opposed to Amendment One, while 38
percent said they favor the amendment.
Voters will decide on the measure
during North Carolina's May 8 presidential primary.
If approved, the amendment would bar
North Carolina from recognizing the relationships of gay and lesbian
couples with marriage, civil unions and possibly domestic
partnerships.
The poll also found a large increase in
the number of people strongly opposed to the amendment, up from 22
percent last year to 34 percent today.
“Consistent with what we see
nationally, North Carolinians are starting to warm to the idea of
same-sex civil unions or partnerships,” Mileah Kromer, assistant
director of the Elon University Poll, said in a statement
accompanying the poll's findings. “Compared to this time last
year, far more citizens are supportive of giving at least some
partnership rights to gay couples.”
The poll surveyed 605 North Carolina
residents and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.98 percentage
points.